I'm back with the Armored Cavalry

It's been a rough couple of months due to personal turmoil, there there was a lot of silence on this blog. But now as things start to settle in again, I will try to post something new at least once per month. Painting didn't stop during this period, so I want catch up with postings of my latest projects.

First up, a new force for Team Yankee has emerged quite unintentionally. As I got some boxes for free after a shop closing (sad though...), I started work on my US Armored Cavalry Squadron!

M1 Abrams platoon form on a hill crest

I started with a platoon of four M1 Abrams tanks to form the core of the formation. These are build as early M1s without any fancy improvements, but will be accompanied by one or two platoons of uparmoured IPM1s in the future. 

The fomation is supposed to be in the older MASSTER camouflage scheme used by the 7th Army during the 1970s and '80s, but was phased out for MERDC. I will apply this scheme to all ground kit vehicles, but it just didn't fit the M1s, being introduced in early 1982. Therefore I painted these in  a pattern of forest green with sand couloured spots, as seen in photos of the Reforger '83 manouveres.

The platoon commander with Astroturf

Another special feature of this forger scheme is the application of so-called 'Astroturf' to camouflage the turret.  I am pretty pleased with the effect achived by gluing strips of MiniNatur ivy onto the tank.

AH-1 Cobra flight

To give the Armored Cavalry some inherent air support, there is a flight of two AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. These Battlefront models really were a delight to build and paint. Simply a drab undercoat, some washing and details plus the application of AC decals. An amazing look this is! 

The starting AC squadron assembles